Rough Guide to World Music

Rough Guide to World Music

"I hate world music," wrote David Byrne, who went on to explain that he disliked a vague marketing label that ghettoized the majority of the world's music. The Rough Guiders who compiled this insanely far-flung anthology, conversely, apparently adore the term's catchall nature. Which is why you'll find everything from Colombian salsa fireball Joe Arroyo to the Gaelic "mouth music" of Scot singer Talitha MacKenzie here and a whole lot more. World music usually signifies roots less than fusion, which is why Mali singer Oumou Sangare's electrified traditionalism sounds just fine beside the avant-psychedelic guitar of Henry Kaiser and Malagasy singer Roger Georges. A certain disproportion is probably inevitable. Africa, with its incomparable dance rhythms, weighs in heavy with contributions by Youssou N'Dour (Senegal), Zaiko Langa Langa (Zaire), and Cecile Kayirebwa (Rwanda), while Asia is represented only by Guo Yue and Joji Hirota's flute duo. Irish folk, Louisiana zydeco, and Nubian blues are also represented here. But anyone interested in learning more about these artists will have to refer back to <I>The Rough Guide to World Music</I> for more information. <I>--Richard Gehr</I>